WILL YOU FLY?
To become a commercial pilot if of course a dream for a lot of people. I can tell you right now if youīre thinking about it, itīs a lot of work! I know though, that in the end it will all be worth it. I cannot imagine a better profession than this. Imagine sitting there in the cockpit an early morning at 35,000 feet just watching the sun rise..... you know itīs raining underneith the clouds......thatīs a feeling!
In Europe things are taking a big change! JAR (Joint Aviation Regulations) is stepping in (Sweden) the 1st of january 2000. This basically means that the European Union will have one united certificate. It also means that all flight-training must be conducted from the beginning to the end in a E.U country. Certificates from a country outside the E.U (third country) will not be convertable. Your hours will be credited for, but not accepted towards your license. This means that you even have to take all your flying-lessons all over again, it sucks! This will of course lead to a lot of complications, especially for those conducting flight-training right now as we speak. They will not be able to make it in time. Good for the writer (Me) that he has finsihed his conversion the 16th of May ( the last class converting in Sweden).
The estimated costs for a license conducted under new regulations will be estimated to 650,000 SEK (about 75,000USD). Then you will only have basic hours (about 190 hrs of which probably 8-10hrs is multi-engine). Another obstacle on the way is the new requirement for MCC-course, (Multicrew Co-operation Course) which will get you authorized to fly, and take typeratings on a turboprop certified for 2 pilots (cat 1A) etc. Without this course you cannot. This course is prized between 35,000-55,000 SEK, (4000USD-6300USD). Prizy but necessary. I have that cours ny the way. Took it at SAS Flight Academy in April.
All this basically means that if you are considering taking a pilots-license outside the E.U youīre going to put down about a 1,000,000 SEK (115,000$) when youīre done in the E.U. I just know for Sweden, but in Sweden you canīt get that kind of student loans, so that means either you have a huge bank loan combined with student loan, or you are just bloody rich! I think this is wrong! Being a pilot shouldnīt be only for the wealthy!
Well, let us discuss the other alternatives. If you want to be a pilot and donīt have a lot of cash my advise is:
1) If you are a very bright man/woman and have a power physique, the ability to think in super-sonic, fighter-pilot is something you should go for! In Sweden 1/3 of all the airforce-pilots are threatening to quit and head for civil-aviation due to cutdowns in flight-time and low paychecks. Maybe a good idea, maybe not!?
2) If you live in Sweden and have very high grades & think youīre pilot material, you can be one of the 10-20 persons a year (out of 3000 applicants) to be selected into the government sponsored commercial-pilot education (TFHS, Scandinavian Airlines will definently look at your application). They are not accepting anyone at the moment, but will sooner or later.
3) Apply to one of the Airlines self-operated flightschools, itīs mighty tough to be accepted (and youīll probably be forced to pay half the cost in most of them, (but my opinion is that, it could change with demands). Think about it, if you have a loan it wouldnīt matter because you are guaranteed a job if you pass!
4) Forget about it! Brutal advice but unfortunently this is the case for many people.
5) Fly in the U.S, then marry an american or move to a third counrty like the Emirates U.A.E, get a nice job on a Boeing 777 or Airbus A340.
I hope things will change a little bit īcause right now it seems like E.U is biting themselves in the tail.
Donīt let all this go to your head, try hard! Down here is a couple of hyperlinks to some interesting sites where you can find some good help on the way. Good luck! You can always contact me on: Tobiaslj@hotmail.com, if you have any questions that you think I might be able to answer.
http://www.sasflightops.com (SAS Operations, Applicationforms)
http://www.ldc.lu.se/tfhs/ (TFHS in Sweden(government)
http://www.sasfa.com (SAS flightacademy)
http://www.british-airways.com/inside/bapilots/index.shtml (British Airways sponsored program for inexperienced)
http://www.abc.se/~m9963/flygyrke.html (Swedish site for pilots & becoming pilots)
If you have that cash and want to be a commercial pilot, i advice you to:
1)
Establish contact with a local flightschool, give them your money and they will train you well!2) Go to the United States (if donīt already live there) take all your licenses, work as an instructor or buy your own multi-airplane.Then go back home and start all over again if you have the mind for it.
3) Join the Lufthansa flightschool. They even provide with 250 hrs of turbine time. Price:110.000$